An analysis of
local news reports and school
district data
by The New York Times found that at least one out of every six students
eligible to take the third - through eighth - grade tests in New York State sat at least one of them out this past school year, part of the so - called opt out movement.
Students are
eligible for the program if the student's resident
district is not a school
district in which the pilot project scholarship program is operating and the student satisfies one of the following conditions: the student attends a
local public school that has received a grade D or F
by the state's performance index score, the student is assigned to a community school but would otherwise be assigned to a qualifying school, the student attends a
local public school that was ranked in the lowest 10 percent of public schools in two of the three most recent rankings and the public school was not declared to be excellent or effective in the most recent rating system, or the student is enrolling in grades K — 12 for the first time and would be assigned to a qualifying school as long as they are at least 5 years old
by Jan. 1 of the school year.